Johnson calls for more school vouchers

Brandon Larrabee

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 11:30 PM

ATLANTA - A high-ranking Republican legislator signaled the beginning of a new battle over school vouchers Thursday, saying he would propose a bill next year to provide taxpayer funds for at least some students to go to private schools.

But Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, who is stepping down as the No. 2 official in the General Assembly's upper chamber, also said state lawmakers might be forced to delay a measure to provide tax credits for contributions to private-school scholarship funds.

The reason? The state's deepening budget crisis, he said.

Read moreClick here to read more about Johnson stepping down as the No. 2 official in the General Assembly's upper chamber.

In a speech at an event marking the birthday of the late Milton Friedman, an economist who pushed for vouchers, Johnson said the measure would help both private and public schools by encouraging competition.

"If we offer every child the right to choose their schools ... Georgia will skyrocket to the top of the educational rankings," he said. "We don't need to destroy the public schools. We need to challenge them more."

Johnson, who is considered a possible candidate for lieutenant governor, also unveiled a poll conducted by InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion Research that found about 68 percent of Georgians surveyed approved of allowing students to go to either public or private schools if it didn't cost taxpayers more to send them.

"In a year of change, Georgians are for it," he said.

Earlier this year, Johnson spearheaded a battle to provide vouchers to children in schools that repeatedly fail to meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act. But Johnson's proposal failed to make it to the House floor after an uproar from teachers' groups, who fear such initiatives will gut public-education funding.

While Johnson said the ultimate goal is to give every student a choice of going to whichever public or private school he or she prefers, he will wait until after the election to determine how broad a bill he will propose.

Education groups wasted no time is expressing skepticism about Johnson's proposal. Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said any competition would be unfair if the state continues to underfund public schools.

"Is the state going to fund public education at a sufficient level so that parents will choose public schools, or is the state bound and determined to degrade public schools so that parents will want to go to almost any other school?" Callahan asked.

Johnson called for a new funding formula to replace the current scheme, and he said the General Assembly should fully fund the result "without excuses."

Meanwhile, Johnson indicated that a $50 million program providing tax credits to Georgians who contribute to organizations that offer private-school scholarships could be delayed if the General Assembly has to gather for a special session to address the budget crisis.

Some observers estimate Georgia could run a budget deficit of up to $2 billion in the spending year that began July 1.

While Gov. Sonny Perdue can take some administrative measures to meet the Georgia Constitution's requirement of a balanced budget, delaying the tax-credit measure would require legislative approval.

Johnson said state lawmakers would take that step reluctantly.

"Nobody wants to do that, and I'm not saying we would," he said.

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